Been strolling through the mezzanine application objections, compiled a reminder of how much Forest love is out there.Because why not.

"I do not want to lose a community space in my neighbourhood.I do not want to lose another part of Edinburgh's Old Town"

"The forest was a place for me to practice, perform and record my music. It created a platform to interact with other musicians and other events and promoters around the city. This would not have happened in such a way without the community at the forest. As a mark of that success we are now selling CDs in Avalanche Records (an independent record shop)."

"The place is great leave it alone"

"everyone loves the forrest cafe..its always been the place to be!!"

" Its important that such a institution stays around and provides a space in which art and a community sensibility can warmly greet newcomers and locals. Many cities have tried to replicate this but none better than the forest itself."

"I go regularly to the Forst caffe and belive it is one of the only creatively stimulating places left in Edinburgh. If anything it should become a Edinburgh heritage site!"

"The Forest cafe in its existing incarnation has brought a startling level of cultural innovation to the centre of Edinburgh, enriching the area and prompting national levels of acclaim. (not to mention creating a space that is warm, cheap and welcoming for people of all backgrounds and tastes)It is a symbol of everything that is wonderful about the people of Edinburgh and Scotland at large."

"It is places like this that keep us coming back time and again to edinburgh and I feel it should be allowed to continue for the local community as well as visitors like ourselves."

"For me, The Forest Cafe is one of the most vital and special places in Edinburgh and this has been also an opinion of all my foreign friends, who have visited me over the years."

"i find the forest a really beautiful and inspiring place worth conserving in the midst of our city."

" The current location is perfect for its purpose and is also home to a great deal of memories for those who go there."

"As a student and recent immigrant to Edinburgh I found the current use of the property, the Forest Cafe, very helpful on my way to full integration into society. Its a place where everybody is welcome and friends are made. It is an important and vital part of the inner city community and creates a diverse space for cultural exchange.As a citizen I object to the plans for it to be created into a restaurant. There are more than enough restaurants in this district already and a loss of the Forest Cafe would mean a loss of the special atmosphere that makes Edinburgh a great city."

"I personnally found refuge their when I found myself troubled and needed to relax away from the stresses of stereorypical chains of ordinary cafe's last summer. Without the Forest I would have been lost in this city as I have found many other people who share the same views!It is a cafe that has culture and holds many events for good causes also helping fund visits for international students!I do not understand why all of the independent arts collectives of Edinburgh are closing this shows a sad state of affairs for the city. Keep the forest open and maintain the values of the Culture as many developing band, artist and individual find solice at the venue and the lovely people who attend the various events!"

"most broadly speaking, this is because the plans aim to completely remove an historic, vibrant, and truly unique organisation which not only acts as a meeting point and outlet for the incredibly important and diverse alternative culture in Edinburgh and helps to create the internationally renowned idiosynccratic charachter of Edinburgh."

"We're not objecting to these proposals for the sake of it but the building is as important as the people and work that goes on inside is too. Long live the Forest, rotten trees and all!"

"The Forest is a valuable community resource, offering facilities, groups and action that enhances the character of Edinburgh as a city. The proposed application eradicates this wonderful community hub and provides no provision for alternatives, going against the objectives within the city planning literature."

"THE FOREST CAFE IS A PLACE UNIQUE IN EDINBURGH AND UNUSUAL OUTSIDE OF IT. IT IS AN OPEN-MINDED SOULFUL FREE CREATIVE COMMUNITY SPACE INVALUABLE TO LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL ARTISTS, MUSICIANS, PERFORMERS AND THE EVERYDAY PERSON WANTING A HAVEN TO REST/EAT/READ/SOCIALISE/BE ENTERTAINED/LEARN. IT IS VITAL THIS PLACE STAYS ALIVE. IT IS A MILLION TIMES MORE IMPORTANT TO LOCAL WELLBEING THAN ANY GENERIC OFFICE SPACE AND RESTAURANT. FOREST IS IRREPLACEABLE."

"Forest is a brilliantly vibrant and all-encompassing asset to the central Edinburgh environment and it would be a tragedy if it were to close down. Establishments like Forest do not materialise very easily or very often so to terminate the legacy of Forest, which has been running successfully for many many years, in favour of yet another set of apartments/offices/chain stores seems elitist and irresponsible."

"As a queer transgender person, this is currently one of the few places that I can go without any fear of harassment and would be deeply saddened to see it go."

"the Forest is a marvellous and unique community resource, a hub for all kinds of charitable and health giving activities, and goes a long way to making Edinburgh a better place."

"This building, and the Forest who currently rent it, is an important part of the community in central Edinburgh. It is a place where people can meet, share ideas, form bands, write poetry and display art.Some of those who frequent the Forest would otherwise have nowhere to go, it is one of the only places left in Edinburgh where one can just have a sit down, a chat or a read without having to buy anything. If it is turned into a restaurant the opposite would be the case."

"THE FORREST IS THE BESTEST"

"the Forest Cafe, provides a vital, free, multicultural, diverse, artistic community space in the middle of the city, creating a beakon of vibrancy in an otherwise sterile environment. "

"I am fairly well travelled within the United Kingdom, and I have not yet come across another venue as diverse, welcoming, interesting and warm as the Forest. Removing such an ethically-orientated, open, artistic venue is both closed-minded and misinformed It is a backwards step and would directly damage the vitality and vibrancy of the city centre - such a place should be encouraged and supported with enthusiasm. Not to do this would contradict and curb Edinburgh's reputation as a cultural paradise of artistic creativity. It is, after all, home to the largest Arts festival in the world, the ethos of which the Forest Cafe has embraced and developed upon over the past years. I have met countless inspiring people there, and hope to continue doing so in the future. The Forest has limitless potential to expand and evolve as it has been doing, to enrich and nourish the city I am delighted to call my home."

"The Forest is a CRUCIAL melting pot for many otherwise separate creative communities. Edinburgh's recognition as a great city of culture will be severely jeporadised by its loss."

"The forest cafe is a extremely important part of edinburghs community life, making them leaving 3 bristo place, an important meeting point and free space will be lost!"

"It is part of Edinburgh's culture. I hear people in London talking about the Forest cafe when they talk about how great Edinburgh is, and how friendly the people are. They always end up mentioning the Forest. I cannot stress enough how important this facility is.It is accessible to everyone, a truly egalitarian place. To lose the forest would be to lose a part of Edinburgh's heart, and everything Edinburgh stands for. Please, do not let this happen."

"The work undertaken in the forest's venues have contributed the development of responsible, creative, and often remarkable things (meals, paintings, prints, pieces of music, and performances). The people who have undertaken to make these things have benefited from the access to this facilities, and their audiences have consistently derived intense joy from the objects themselves, and the way in which they were made. The loss of these installations would severely damage the cultural life of the centre of Edinburgh. This is not wise for a city that is proud to host the largest creative arts festival in Europe, quite aside from the benefits reaped by its citizens from the forest's cultural contribution on the other 11 months of the year.The forest cafe does not employ any staff. It is open to everyone. It is run on a collective basis that places initiative above station, and capacity above ambition. The forest cafe encourages cosmopolitanism, diversity, and hospitality in an area (and in a city) where these conditions for a happy and functional city are often sorely lacking.The forest cafe is also an award-winning fringe venue. It attracts visitors to the city during the festival, but also during the rest of the year as its staff and customers often become close friends and many come back to an establishment so dearly beloved for the people they once knew there.Furthermore, the forest cafe also houses a massage parlour and barber's installations that both operate below market cost and deliver outstanding service.The forest cafe deserves pride of place in the list of establishments that make Edinburgh a unique, and important city in both Scottish and British contexts. It is also the last bastion of a classical liberal spirit of enterprise, a spirit which stresses personal responsibility and initiative within a fair market and a sophisticated citizenry. It is not expendable, it is not replaceable, and it is infuriating that these proposals should have been made in the first place."

"The forest is a place of meeting, education and creativity for which there is no replacement in Edinburgh."

"The Forest Cafe plays a great role in a cultural life of Edinburgh you cant just get rid of it that will harm a lot of people and the city its self"

"This is one of the only places in Edinburgh that allows people to come and express themselves"

"LONG LIVE FOREST! xxx"

"If the Forest were to be broken up, Edinburgh would lose a vital and beautiful arts venue. Not only does it provide cultural stimulus, but also a personal support network for a vast and diverse group of people, as well as providing a unique tourist destination.Please, please do not the Forest be broken up. It is far too beautiful and necessary to be allowed to die."

"I believe the forest is part of Edinburgh's strong and proud history"

"Although I am not a resident of Edinburgh, I have been take to The Forest by friends while visiting the city, and it has each time been a fun, interesting and intriguing experience."

"Forest is one of the best cultural free space in the world!!!!!!"

"The Forest is an essential part of Edinburgh culture."

"As a visitor to Edinburgh, the Forest Cafe is one of the things I tell people about most often. Just a step inside and you can see the unimaginable effort that's gone into creating that space- it's not a question of simply relocating it. The forest must be preserved - in its current location"

"This is a unique performance venue, it is home to a very important part of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. It provides a high level of support and opportunity to new perfomers who are just finding their feet. The Free workshops offered by Forest give opportunities to the unwaged and disadvantaged."

"This venue creates goodwill, generosity through a genuine sense of community and the city cannot afford to lose it. "

"The forest cafe fulfills a very valuable purpose at the heart of Edinburgh. It's accessibility to all is crucial to its nature of promoting art and expression and putting them forefront. It is crucial that the venue must not change for these purposes- a further out venue would not allow the same footfall- people could not simply 'stumble upon' the forest, in the same fashion I did."

"The forest remains one of the last bastions of independent art and community space left for edinburgers to enjoy."

"The Forest Café is a central part of the culture of Edinburgh. It makes a great impact in the lives of young people, where they have access to resources, workshops and spaces that it would otherwise be very expensive to access."

"Scotland to me was a beautiful, warm and loving place. It remembered it's history but looked forward at the same time. But one place in this city looked out, forward, backwards, westwards and straight-up-yourwards and that was the one place that is bringing me, and many other finns alike, again and again, back to edinburgh; its The forest. To me it promotes and tells the story of a vibrant, living city, that creates, lives and breathes art. This place enables people to invent, express themselves, organise events, make an impact and it gives some people a CHANCE. Another business venue is going to only turn Bristo place more hip for a few moments. It is not going to make a change in anyones life. purse, maybe. But something like the forest can. Fresh ideas need a fresh ground, and the people of the world need Forest to breathe in grouded cities.. These places keep the city alive. And unique. Don't take the heart of edinburgh away...more green spaces, eh?"

"This is a truly unique and highly accessible cultural hub that the city should be working to protect. All of this goes against the city's aims to increase diversity, culture, and accessibility."

"The Forest is a uniquely valuable local community resource. It's an art space, it's a cafe that sells affordable and healthy food, it's a meeting place, an events space, a place where volunteers get to learn useful skills and work experience. Edinburgh cannot afford to lose it. Please don't take this away from us."

"The Forest not only acts as a vital and active hub for many people in Edinburgh, but attracts people from all over the country. It has become well-known among artists, grassroots political groups and others, as a space which accommodates such activities. It is an example of the kind of welcoming, lively place which is becoming so rare in the centre of Edinburgh, as more and more of the historic centre is sacraficed to luxury hotels and expensive restuarants. "

"The forest is one of the things that makes Edinburgh great. How many cities can stake claim to a voluntary run, free art space which offers courses and culture in a variety of disciplines and has the charm and charisma of this place? Few. "

"the place is magical, the best place i have ever been"

"The Forest is everything that's right in the human heart, and I don't expect any careerist, self-seeking bureaucratic insect to understand this, but if you shut down the Forest, you're making a mistake that humanity will judge you for for generations to come. But, I forget, this means shit to you, for you have not a soul. For shame."

Thinking about making little laminated strips out of these (got a laminator, wanna play with it!) with the WeFund web adress at the back and attach them to the stuff we'll leave outside the building on Saturday...

Newington Bandit wrote:Thinking about making little laminated strips out of these (got a laminator, wanna play with it!) with the WeFund web adress at the back and attach them to the stuff we'll leave outside the building on Saturday...